System Performance
Here's proof that Intel's product branding isn't as clear as it needs to be. On paper, the Zbox Nano's i7-4500U sounds like the quickest chip on show, but the 15W chip is actually beaten by the i5-3470T in the larger, last-generation Zbox. There's a good reason for that, as the aforementioned Core i5 is a 35W chip capable of hitting 3.6GHz. There's very little in it, though, and the Zbox Nano does feel nippy for such a small system.
The chip used here is a dual-core, hyper-threaded solution, and it scores well in multi-core Cinebench test. This is a good indication of multi-tasking performance, which based on these numbers is right in line with that of an Intel Ultrabook.
Here's where performance falls short of expectations. PCMark 7 evaluates overall system speed by taking CPU, graphics and storage into consideration. Close to 3,000 marks isn't particularly bad for a hard-disk-based machine, but the Zbox is crying out for the kind of speed injection only an SSD can provide. Upgrade to solid-state storage and we reckon the Zbox Nano ID69 would return over 5,000 marks in this benchmark.
What about the integrated Intel HD 4400 IGP? Well, the graphics processor is a clear upgrade over previous-generation parts, yet it remains best-suited to multimedia tasks where Intel Quick Sync technology makes light work of video encoding and decoding.
Driving video content on ultra-high-res displays won't be a problem, but gaming will be a step too far. We attempted to play BioShock Infinite with low quality settings at 1080p and returned a lacklustre average frame rate of just 11.2 fps. As expected for a PC of this size, it's a case of multimedia, yes, gaming, no.
